Motor-driven vehicle.



C. H. BROCKMANN.

MOTOR DRIVEN VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22.1916 1,23%28, PatentedAug. 21, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

C. H. BROCKMANN.

MOTOR DRIVEN VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED DEC.22. 1916- 1,237,288,Patented Aug, 21,1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

are": A AILABLE CHRISTIAN H. BROCKMANN, OF UNION CENTER: WISCONSIN.

MOTOR-DRIVEN VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 21, 1917.

Application filed December 22, 1916. Serial No. 138,389.

T 0 all UILOIN/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRIsTIAN H. BROCK- MANN, a citizen of the l'nitedStates, residing at l nion Center, in the county of Juneau and State ofVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inlVIotor-Driven Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in motor driven vehicles andmore. particularly to those of the four drive wheel class, in which thepower is administered to all four of the supporting wheels of thevehicle. A further object of the invention is to provide a vehicle ofthis class adapted primarily for use as a farm tractor and which is soconstructed mechanically as to make unneccessary the use of the standarddifferential. A further object is to provide a device of this class thatis simple in construction and operation, not easily put out of order andthat is cheap to manufacture. \Vith the foregoing and other objects inview the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of partsto be hereafter fully described in this specification. pointed out inthe appended claims and illustrated in the. accompanying drawings whichform a part of the specification and in which Figure l is a view of myimproved vehicle in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a. front view of the vehicle with part of the driving andsteering mechanism eliminated.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional fragmentary view showing the meansemployed in lieu of a differential.

Fig. -l is a top plan view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the steering mechanism used in oneembodiment of my invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a modified form of steering mechanism thatmay be used to permit a quicker and shorter turn to be made with lessmovement of the wheel.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of the steering mechanism showing theconstruction modified to permit a quick short turn.

Like reference characters denote correspondin; parts throughout theseveral views.

The reference numeral 1 denotes the frame of the vehicle which iscarried upon the front axle 2 and rear axle The rear axle 3 is providedwith the traction wheels -l fast upon its ends and aid axle. further. isprovided with a sprocket 5 that is driven by a sprocket chain 6 thatruns over a small sprocket wheel 7 arranged upon the engine shaft 8which shaft is also provided with a sprocket wheel 9 that is connectedby sprocket chain 10 to another sprocket wheel 11 fast upon atransmission shaft 12 journaled in suitable bearings carried by the-saidframe 1. Another sprocket wheel 13 also fast upon said transmissionshaft is connected by chaih 14 with a sprocket wheel 15 fast upon thefront axle :2. The said front axle 2 versal joint 16 to a stub shaft 17upon which a front wheel 18 is carried which wheel, while the vehicle isrunning in a straight line. is made fast to the axle by a slip clutch ortoothed disk 19 which directly connects teeth 1 of the wheel with theend 20 of the stub shaft which end is square in cross section and. asit'rotates, rotates the said clutch 19 which turns and drives the wheel.

A steering knuckle 21 is mounted upon the stub shaft and said knuckles,one upon each stub shaft. are connected by a steering bar 2'2 and arepivotally connected to bearings 23 that depend from the frame 1. Whenthe front.end of thevehicle is turning and the outer front wheel needsto run faster than the stub axle and clutch the teeth 19 of the wheelforce the slip clutch into the wheel hub against the tension of thespring 24 and so permit the said front wheel to travel at the speednecessary to make the turn without slipping.

The bar is connected by pitman 25 with the shaft 20. supported by theframe 1, which shaft through the medium of pinion 27in mesh with worm ofsteering shaft 29 is driven by said shaft 2%); shaft 29 being controlledby steering wheel 30. The steering knuckle 21 is a one piece casting asillustrated in the. first four figures of the drawing. In Fig. 7 Iillustrate a modified form of steering knuckle which comprises the wing31 which is pivotally connected to the bearings 23 and also pivotallyconnected at "31 to the sleeve 32 arranged upon the stub shaft 17 thesquare end 20 of which is all that is shown in the figure. The sleeve isformed with the car 33 which is perforated to receive the end of the bar22. It is obvious that in this construction a quicker and shorter turnof the wheel is possible than in the form previously described. Aschematic view of the advantage gained is shown in Fig. 6.

is connected at each end by a uni- V7 hat is claimed is 1. lln a motordriven vehicle, a motor driven front axle, stub axles having one oftheir ends square in cross section, universal joints connecting saidstub axles with said front axle, traction wheels arranged'upon said stubaxles, teeth formed in one lateral face of each of said traction wheels,disks fast upon the square ends of said stub axles and formed with teethkept yieldingly in engagement with the teeth of said traction wheels,steering knuckles arranged upon said stub axles and abutting saidtraction wheels, and manually operable means for controlling saidsteering knuckles.

In a motor driven vehicle, a motor driven front axle, stub axles havingone of their ends square in cross section, universal joints connectingsaid stub axles With said front axle, traction Wheels arranged upon saidstub axles, teeth formed in one lateral face of each of said tractionwheels, disks fast upon the squared ends of said stub axles and formedwith teeth kept yieldingly in engagement with the teeth of said traetionwheels, sleeves arranged upon said stub shafts abutting said tractionwheels, ears formed integral with said sleeves, a steering rodconnecting the ears of said sleeves, wings pivotally connected to saidsleeves and to the frame of the vehicle, and manually operable means forcontrolling said steering rod.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own l have hereto aiiixedmy signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHRISTIAN H. BRUQKMANN.

W'itnesses:

CARL Hnnunwre, E. G. NAWsHA.

